Cubafest Has a Quinceañera

Miguelito-Valdés

Jesús Aguado

The dress to adorn this 15th festival of Cuban culture, for sure, will be its events. The fiesta, to which we all are invited, will feature music, literature, films, and more than 200 dancers on stage.

The organizers of the Cuban Festival, Guadalupe Meza and Adolfo Rubio, remarked that this is the only festival in Mexico that celebrates the culture of the Caribbean island, and for 15 years, it has paid tribute to outstanding artists in music, literature, dance, and films. As a total, the festival has offered “150 days of intense and vibrant Cuban culture,” they said.

“Benny Moré, Pérez Prado, Compay Segundo, Alejo Carpentier, Ibrahim Ferrer, Enrique Jorrín, and other singers and musicians have received tributes at this festival, which has filled the hearts of thousands of Mexicans and foreigners with happiness,” remarked Meza and Rubio. They also remembered those who have performed at the Ángela Peralta Theater and the Jardín Principal, like Omara Portuondo, tenor Javier Camarena, flautist Orlando “Maraca,” and orchestras like Son 14 de Cuba, América, and Habanera.

This year, Meza and Rubio said that the Cubafest will run from March 8–18, appearing in several venues, including the Jardín Principal, where there is an exhibit and sale of arts and crafts from that country annually. In 2018, the tribute will be for singer Miguelito Valdés (1912–1978), they said. The quintet of traditional music, Cubasón, from Santiago de Cuba will perform featuring the female band from Havana, Café Latte.

On stage at the Jardín Principal, the Festival will present the winners of the Salsa and Son Dance Competition from America Latina, part of the Nova Rumba group. They will be joined by 200 dancers who will move their bodies to the rhythm of chachachá, mambo, and salsa.

The movie Canción de barrio will be projected, and 15 books will be presented during the festival. The festival has grown in the last five years and it will also present some events in León, Dolores Hidalgo, and Guanajuato City.